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Spaceward Bound!

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NASA Spaceward Bound is a unique collaboration initiated by the US space agency to further the cause of space exploration among the next generation. It brings space scientists, teachers and students together for learning and training, explains Siddharth Pandey . This programme has a strong base in India, he says.

With the motivation to bring together space scientists from various space agencies, high school and university teachers and students to a Mars like environment, NASA’s (National Aeronautics Space Administration) Spaceward Bound programme aims to inspire the next generation of explorers by training and learning in the field.

Initiated in 2006 at NASA Ames Research Center under Senior Space Scientist Dr. Christopher McKay, the programme has been held regularly in the Mohave Desert region. Along with it, several international versions of the same have been conducted in Atacama Desert (Chile), Namibian Desert, UAE, Australia and New Zealand. Every expedition has its own theme within the realms of Astrobiology and Planetary Geology.

Astrobiology and space exploration
As NASA’s Astrobiology Programme has postulated them- How did life begin and evolve? Is there life beyond Earth and can it be detected? What is the future of life on Earth and in the Universe?

The Spaceward Bound team on location at Ladakh
The Spaceward Bound team on location at Ladakh

The scientists on the Spaceward Bound team select regions on our planet that help us study the extreme boundaries of temperature, humidity, acidity/alkalinity, salinity, within which all the life as we know it, exists.

How does this help space exploration? Scientists study the sites for microbial diversity, test future Mars systems in relevant environment to help design experiments for future missions on other worlds.

The Ladakh expedition
Ladakh in India offers several distinct ‘astrobiologically’ relevant regions within proximity of each other. It is a very high (above 3500 m above sea level) cold desert region that has access to glacial passes, salty lakes, permafrost (permanently soil covered ice deposits) and high altitude hot springs. All these regions support microbial life that manages to survive in very harsh conditions. There have been several environment and terrestrial geology studies conducted in the region, but NASA Spaceward Bound India 2016 has been the first astrobiology international field expedition to be conducted in the region. Therefore, to summarise:

  • Availability of several astrobio/geologically interesting features within the same region and coverable distances such as; cold high altitude desert soils, hot springs, permafrost, glaciers, saline and palaeo-lakes.
  • Low human habitation/intervention, which has resulted in pristine eco-systems, very appropriate for terrestrial analogue studies.
  • High altitude environment for conducting human dexterity and performance based tests.
  • Remoteness and difficult to access regions simulating the challenges of transportation, resource utilisation and communication of off-Earth human missions.
  • High altitude clear night skies for astronomy and astrophotography.
  • Utilise the appeal and ‘out of this world’ landscape to complement the science education promotion goals of this pilot project.

    • Objectives of the expedition
    The objectives of the expedition were three-fold. First, the team was able to complete a survey of a set of different hot springs, passes, lakes, to prepare the first documentation report studying the feasibility of Ladakh as a possible location for future detailed astrobiology and Mars surface simulation engineering experiments within India. Second, the programme enabled Indian scientists and students to work alongside international counterparts in the extreme environment, to help train and collaborate on several research projects. Third, and most important, it enabled the Spaceward Bound members to interact with school kids and conduct space science exploration education outreach to help inspire them to work hard and follow their dreams!

    After the successful completion of the first such expedition in India, the team is currently analysing the results obtained from the various science experiments conducted on the expedition. The team was able to access all the sites as planned on their mission plan, which is encouraging, as this ensures planning of future trips to the region. Several interesting findings related to the chemical nature of the hot springs and saline lake deposits will be reported in scientific articles and shall pave the way for future work. This would possibly lead to a follow up expedition within the next two years.

    The next expedition will invite applications from students across India to participate either remotely or in field for work. If students can come up with relevant science projects to be conducted in the field, their chances of getting selected surely go up. Here is the contact Information:

    Siddharth Pandey
    spacewardbound@astrobiologyindia.in
    Website: https://spacewardbound.astrobiologyindia.in/home/welcome/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SBIndia2016

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    Siddharth Pandey

    Siddharth Pandey is a PhD student at University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia. His work is on Understanding Thermal Convection on Martian Surface to aid design of a Mars bound Rover. Previously, he was an Education Associate at NASA Ames Research Center. His work on two successful spaceflight experiments was honoured when his team received the NASA Spaceflight Awareness Team Award in May 2014. He holds a Master’s degree in Space Systems Engineering from Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands and a Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering from Amity University, India. [/column]

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